1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an address book service in a communications environment. More particularly, the present invention relates to a communications system and method for a customer to manage and synchronize new and updated multi-modal addressing information.
2. Background Information
A need exists for a customer of a communications service to maintain a multi-modal address book with complete and up-to-date information. For example, conventionally, a customer of a telecommunications service provider may program telephone numbers into a wireline or wireless telephone as an address book. In addition, a customer of an internet service provider may maintain an address book or buddy list in association with an email or instant messaging account. A customer of both service providers may desire a complete address book that is available for accounts of both services and that includes information for both telecommunications and internet communications partners (e.g., telephone callers, email senders).
Additionally, when a communications partner changes address information, such as an email address, a customer may need to change more than one address book to update the address. Since a customer may have communications devices using different communications modes, maintaining reliable up-to-date address books can prove burdensome.
In some cases, an address book for a specific application, e.g., Microsoft Outlook, can be imported as a file and loaded into an application for a different account, e.g., an internet email account. However, importing a Microsoft Outlook address book can require significant effort and technical ability, similar to the burden of separately entering information of communications partners into different address books. Therefore, a Microsoft Outlook user may not be able to import and load a Microsoft Outlook address book to a device using a different communications mode such as short messaging service (SMS), instant messaging (IM) or traditional phone and facsimile service. Accordingly, a user with Microsoft Outlook will often rebuild an address book for new applications by hand rather than reload the information of communications partners from the Microsoft Outlook address book.
Moreover, individually notifying communications partners when a customer changes or updates information is time consuming and burdensome. Accordingly, a customer may wish to notify communications partners automatically when the customer's address information changes.
A communications system and method are needed for maintaining a centralized address book that stores multi-modal contact information and that is accessible using different devices and different communications modes and formats. In addition, a communications system and method are needed for automatically updating an address book when information changes for a customer or for a communications partner entered into an address book of the customer. Furthermore, a communications system and method are needed for synchronizing the centralized multi-modal address book with local copies that are stored in association with each of a customer's devices and accounts. To solve the above-described problems, a communications system and method are provided for maintaining a multi-modal address book service in a communications environment.